Bottle cap



June 9, 1942.

c. R. DOE

BOTTLE CAP Filed Aug. 1, 1940 Patented June 9, 1942 t BOTTLE CAP Claude R. Doe, Bellerose, N. Y., assignor to American Seal-Kap Corporation of Delaware, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1940, Serial No. 349,184

5 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle caps and more particularly to milk bottle caps of the cover-all type.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved cap of the above type having vents to release fluid pressure which may be built up within the bottle, so as to prevent the cap from being unseated thereby.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved vent construction and arrangement for releasing the internal pressure from the bottle and for preventing contamination of the contents thereof due to the entrance of external fluids.

Another object is to provide a vent which is suited to permit passage of thick liquids lsuch as heavy cream or buttermilk `but is normally closed to prevent leakage.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are pointed out more particularly in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself may be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which certain preferred ernbodiu ments of the invention have been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a Vertical section through a cap forming die illustrating one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the plunger of an upper forming die embodying the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the cap formed thereon;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the lower corrugation ring for forming the cap of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through a milk bottle showing the cap of Fig. 2 applied thereto;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of said cap, and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a cap illustrating a further embodiment of the invention.

In the following description and in the claims certain specific terms are used for convenience in referring to various details of the invention. These terms are, however, to be given as broad an interpretation as the state of the art will permit.

Referring to the drawing, the invention is shown as applied to a cap of the cover-all type having a bore covering portion or diaphragm I (Fig. 5) adapted to seat on the internal ledge II of a standard milk bottle I2, and having a U- shaped pouring lip housing comprising an inner sealing ange I3, a top Yportion I4 and an outer depending skirt I5. The sealing ange I3 iS vadapted to seat within the pouring lip I6 of the bottle and the top. portion I4 and the outer depending skirt I5 are adapted to extend over the pouring lip I6 to completely cover the same.

The .cap is preferably formed from a paper which has been pre-treated with parain so as to render the same pliable, .as more fully set forth in the Baum Patent 1,668,349, and may be made by upper and lower dies comprising an upper plunger 20 (Fig. l) which is adapted to co-operate with a lower plunger 2I to form the diaphragm I0 and with a lower corrugation ring 23 to form the sealing flange I3, an upper corrugation ring 22 cooperating with the lower corrugation ring 2'3 to form the top portion I4, and a skiving ring l24 which -is adapted to form the outer shirt I5. The skiving ring 24 may be provided with a recess 25 which is adapted to form an annular bead 26 on the pouring lip housing in alignment with and forming an extension of the skirt I5. The skiving ring is adapted to compress and compact the stock so as to interfelt the bres thereof and produce a dense hornlike structure, as set forth in the above mentioned Baum patent.

A skirt sizing ring 21 may also be provided to engage the lower edge of the skirt for compacting the same and forcing the stock into the recess 25. The upper corrugation ring 22 may be provided with recesses 28 into which the stock is forced by the skirt sizing ring 2l to form a vplurality of corrugations or beads 29 across the top portion I4 of the cap.

The rings 22 and 23 are referred to as corrugation rings inasmuch as they cooperate to form the top portion I4 which, in the form shown, is provided with corrugations 29. It is to be understood, however, that the cap may be formed with a smooth top, if desired, in which 'case the rings 22 and 23 may be made with smooth surfaces.

In forming the above mentioned cap from a blank, the plungers 20 and 2l' are first depressed with respect to the corrugation rings 22 and 23, thereby cupping the stock and forming the diaphragm It! and sealing flange I3, Thereafter the skiving ring 24 'is brought downwardly to form the outer skirt I5 and the corrugation rings 22 and 23 are brought into pressure engagement to form the top portion I4 of the pouring lip housing. The sizing ring '21 may then be brought into engagement with the bottom of the skirt to `compact the stock and to cause the same to form the annular bead 26 and the corrugations 29.

It is to be understood that the cap thus far described is of standard construction and only so much thereof has been disclosed as is necessary to a complete understanding of the present invention. A cap of this type and means for making the same are disclosed more in detail in Martin, Patent 2,221,197.

In accordance with the present invention, a

plurality of groups of vents are formed in thei outer surface 30 of the sealing iiange I3. For this purpose the upper plunger 2B is provided with a series of recesses 3l on the lower edge thereof and the lower corrugation ring 213 is provided with a plurality of bosses 32 on the upper part of the inner surface thereof. These bosses 32 preferably extend downwardly a distance corresponding to only a portion of the width of the sealing flange I3. The notches 3| of the plunger 20 are made in alignment with the bosses 32 for 'the reason to be described and are arranged in groups, shown for example as groups of three bosses each, the groups being evenly spaced around the elements.

In forming the cap by the use of the plunger and corrugation ring of Figs. 2 and 4, the bosses 32 serve to compress the stock and to form,

grooves 34 in the outer surface 30 of the sealing flange I3. The notches 3l in the bottom edge of the plunger 20 permit the stock to be drawn thereover t0 form corresponding notches 35 in the cap at the intersection of the sealing ilange 1 I3 and the diaphragm Iii. These notches 35 register with the grooves 34 and ensure communication between the grooves and the contents of the bottle. They furthermore prevent the lower portion of the grooves SII from being tightly closed due to the pressure exerted by an inner sealing disc 35 which is inserted within the cap during use.

The notches 35, as shown in Fig. 5, terminate short of the edge 31 of the ledge II so as to leave an unbroken seal between the diaphragm It! and the ledge and thereby prevent leakage under normal conditions. However, when pressure is exerted against the bottom of the diaphragm due to expansion of the contents of the bottle, the diaphragm is lifted sufficiently to permit liquid to escape through the notches 35 and the grooves 34 and thence over the pouring lip It.' As soon as this pressure is released, however, the diaphragm Ill snaps back and reseals the bottle, therebypreventing leakage and eliminating the possibility of contamination from the outside,

It has been found that the arrangement of the grooves in spaced groups as above set forth ensures that certain grooves will be operative regardless of any irregularities in the cap or in the capping head which may tend to apply the cap in a slightly eccentric position and thereby close up certain of the grooves on one side of the cap. This is an important feature as in commercial practice it is impracticable to exactly center all of the caps.

The spacing between groups of grooves provides a substantial area unbroken by grooves, which assists in maintaining a tight seal and holding the cap in place. It has been found that caps so made have a holding power superior to that of caps in which the grooves extend entirely around the ange I3 without leaving substantial unbroken areas. It is to be understood that the size of these grooves is exaggerated in the drawing for purposes of clearness. They may be formed of such dimension as to provide the necessary vent for the cap without permitting the contents of the bottle to pass therethrough under normal conditions.

rI'lnis cap is particularly designed for use in milk bottles in the summer months when the milk is taken from a refrigerated container and .placed on a doorstep where it is exposed to the sun. The change in temperature may be suiiicient to expand the milk and cause the same to press against the under surface of the cap. If some pressure release means were not provided, the cap might be unseated and removed from the bottle thereby.

It is to be understood that the grooves may be made of any desired size so as to provide channels adapted to permit the escape of liquid under pressure and to substantially seal the bot tle against the escape of liquid in ordinary use such as when the bottle is turned on its side. The dimensions may be varied in accordance with the particular product. For example, a thickerliquid, such as cream or buttermilk may require a larger channel than a thinner liquid, such as milk, in order t0 properly release the pressure within the bottle. The action of the vents may also be varied somewhat by varying the diameter of the inner disk and thereby varying the pressure which this disk exerts upon the sealing ange. The pressure must be such as to hold the cap properly in place `without closing up the vents.

With some lighter liquids such as milk or thin cream it maybe found unnecessary to form a notch 35 inA registration with veach groove k311. In such cases the construction of Fig. 7 may be used wherein a notch 35 registers with only one groove, for example the center groove of each group. This construction makes a somewhat tighter seal and is preferable when the vent area thus obtained is suii'cient for the liquid in question.

In certain instances it may be desirable to use a still more complete seal. For this purpose the grooves 34 may be terminated short of the top edge of the flange I3 as shown at 38, Fig. 7, so as to leave a ring of unbroken flange extending entirely around the cap. In this construction the liquid may be forced outwardly for venting purposes in response to internal pressure but will not escape or leak under ordinary conditions. This embodiment may be preferred for use with the thinner liquids.

It will be evident that the various features enumerated above may be combined to produce a cap having the characteristics required in any particular case. Although certain specific ernbodiments of the invention have been shown for purposes of illustration, it is obvious that the invention is capable of various uses and that changes and modifications may be made therein as will readily appear to a person skilled in the art. The invention is only to be limited in accordance with the following claims when interpreted in view of the prior art.

What is claimed is:

l. A milk bottle cap or the like, comprising a diaphragm adapted to seat on the inner ledge of the bottle and having a pouring lip housing adapted to extend over the pouring lip of the bottle, said pouring lip housing having an inner sealing flange adapted to engage the inner suraasaovo face of the pouring lip above said ledge, said sealing flange having a plurality of groups of vertical grooves formed in the outer surface thereof, said groups being spaced to provide therebetween an unbroken surface substantially wider than the space between adjacent grooves of each group and substantially wider than the space which would be obtained between adjacent grooves if the same number of grooves were uniformly spaced around the periphery, said spaces being adapted to engage the inside of the pouring lip of the bottle to provide unbroken bearing surfaces for frictionally securing the cap in place.

2. A milk bottle cap or the like, comprising a diaphragm adapted to seat on the inner ledge of the bottle and having a pouring lip housing adapted to extend over the pouring lip of the bottle, said pouring lip housing having an inner sealing flange adapted to engage the inner surface of the pouring lip above said ledge, said sealingr flange having a plurality of groups of vertical grooves formed in the outer surface thereof, said groups being spaced to provide therebetween an unbroken surface substantially wider than the space between adjacent grooves of each group and substantially wider than the space which would be obtained between adjacent grooves if the same number of grooves were uniformly spaced around the periphery, said spaces being adapted to engage the inside of the pouring lip of the bottle to provide unbroken bearing surfaces for frictionally securing the cap in place, at least some of said grooves being enlarged at their lower ends to facilitate communication with the interior of the bottle.

3. A milk bottle cap or the like, comprising a diaphragm adapted to seat on the inner ledge of the bottle and having a pouring lip housing adapted to extend over the pouring lip of the bottle, said pouring lip housing having an inner sealing flange adapted to engage the inner surface of the pouring lip above said ledge, said sealing flange having a plurality of groups of vertical grooves formed in the outer surface thereof, said groups being spaced to provide therebetween an unbroken surface substantially wider than the space between adjacent grooves of each group and substantially wider than the space which would be obtained between adjacent grooves if the same number of grooves were uniformly spaced around the periphery, said spaces being adapted to engage the inside of the pouring lip of the bottle to provide unbroken bearing surfaces for frictionally securing the cap in place, at least some of A'said grooves being enlarged at their lower ends to facilitate communication with the interior of the bottle, said lower ends terminating short of the inner edge of the bottle ledge so as to leave `an unbroken annular portion adapted to effect a complete seal therearound.

4. A milk bottle cap or the like, comprising a diaphragm adapted to seat on the inner ledge of the bottle and having a pouring lip housing adapted to extend over the pouring lip of the bottle, said pouring lip housing having an inner sealing flange adapted to engage the inner sur face of the pouring lip above said ledge, said sealing flange having a plurality of groups of vertical grooves formed in the outer surface thereof, said groups being spaced to provide therebetween an unbroken surface substantially wider than the space between adjacent grooves of each group and substantially wider than the space which would be obtained between adjacent grooves if the same number of grooves were uniformly spaced around the periphery, said spaces being adapted to engage the inside of the pouring lip of the bottle to provide unbroken bearing surfaces for frictionally securing the cap in place, said groups consisting of three grooves each, one groove having an enlarged lower end to facilitate communication with the interior of the bottle.

5. A milk bottle cap or the like, comprising a diaphragm adapted to seat on the inner ledge of the bottle and having a pouring lip housing adapted to extend over the pouring lip of the bottle, said pouring lip housing having an inner sealing flange adapted to engage the inner surface of the pouring lip above` said ledge, said sealing flange having a plurality of groups of vertical grooves formed in the outer surface thereof, said groups being spaced to provide therebetween an unbroken surface substantially Wider than the space between adjacent grooves of each group and substantially wider than the space which would be obtained between adjacent grooves if the same number of grooves were uniformly spaced around the periphery, said spaces being adapted to engage the inside of the pouring lip of the bottle to provide unbroken bearing surfaces for frictionally securing the cap in place, said grooves terminating short of the top edge of said sealing flange to leave an unbroken annular sealing surface thereon.

CLAUDE R. DOE. 

